POV Eliza

 

I made my way back into town to the guild. I planned to train some skills next and upgrade them to the advanced rank if possible. Hopefully I would get some hints from Sana. The guild was relatively quiet at this time of day, so I made pretty quick progress to Sana.

 

"Hello Sana." <Eliza>

 

“Hello Eliza. How did things go in the dungeon today? I hope you didn’t overdo it.” <Sana>

 

“No, hardly anything happened to me today. I've changed my tactics and am attacking the spiders from a distance. Thanks to a new tactic in which I burn their webs with fire, I can lure them out and then fight them. I won’t make the mistake of staying in close combat for too long again.” <Eliza>

 

"Good to hear. You're obviously doing well. How many spiders did you kill today?” <Sana>

 

“11. That should be enough for today. This brings me further to Rank D.” <Eliza>

 

"Exactly. Give me your license and the spiders, then I'll charge you for the accomplished quests accordingly." <Sana>

 

I handed her my license and the bag with the monster bodies. She recorded my progress in her system and gave me the license back.

 

“There aren’t that many missing anymore. You're doing well, Eliza. At least they're making progress at this rate, let alone solo." <Sana>

 

 “Yes, but I’m also lucky so far. I have never been in serious danger and do not value the experience. But I would like to know something else, Sana.” <Eliza>

 

"What is it? How can I help you?” <Sana>

 

“I am looking for instructors. I want to improve in some skills and for that I need training.” <Eliza>

 

“That’s always a good idea. We have trusted instructors on hand for most common skills. Most of them are adventurers who have retired and earn their living that way. What skills do you have in mind?” <Sana>

 

“First of all, Identify Item and Identify Monster. Then there's body strengthening, because unfortunately I'm small and weak. I could also use a instructor for spears or daggers. Preferably someone who can also take me to the advanced rank.” <Eliza>

 

“That's a lot, but I can help you. I can recommend instructors for these skills. I'll give you the names later, with Identify Monsters and Spears being taught by the same." <Sana>

 

“Thank you for that, Sana. And just out of curiosity, are there any experts level instrucotrs in this city?” <Eliza>

 

“We have a few here. The Identify Monsters and Spears instrucot teaches both up to the Expert rank as well as Sense Presence, Hunting, Survival and Foraging. Then we have a instructor for Archery and Light Armor here. The last few teachers might not be for you unless you want to improve crafting or cooking. In addition to Identify Item, old Evangelos teaches many skills related to magic. Maybe there’s something there for you.” <Sana>

 

“That sounds very promising. Will you please give me the names?” Eliza

 

"Naturally. The Archery teacher is also a scout and very nice, so you should get along well. Take something sweet with you. She has a little son and you can use that to ingratiate yourself with him.” Sana

 

I got the names and addresses and thanked Sana. Then I first went to the Identify Item and Magic teacher. It is about the magician Evangelos. The conversation was very informative. He taught almost all the skills in magic that were relevant to me. Most importantly, he taught wind magic, so I could learn new spells here. I arranged to meet him the next day to receive the first lesson. I had saved up some money so I could afford to upgrade a total of three skills to Advanced, although it will take a few weeks. I just had to choose which one it should be besides Wind Magic and Magic Control. Identify Item was high on the list. After all, it was the skill that was why I came to him in the first place. Fortunately I could improve all sense and agility related skills without instructor. Therefore I could spare the money for other skills.

 

My daily routine for the next few days consisted of alternating between visiting dungeons in the morning and studying in the afternoon. This was a way to make sure I didn't go broke because I could still make money on the side. However, I didn't neglect my other training. In the evenings I did concentration and meditation exercises. I ran the route to the dungeon constantly, at least as far as I can. By winter I managed to complete the route in one piece without being completely out of breath.

 

A few days later, I had defeated enough spiders to advance to rank D. In the meantime I had been to floor 4, where the goblins were. But here I had extremely strong competition from other adventurers, so I was hardly able to defeat any monsters that day. So I gave up the plan and went back to spiders, my love-hate monsters. In the guild, I proudly handed over my license to Sana for promotion. My license changed color from gray to green. I had finally fulfilled my part of the agreement to form a group with the others. But before I could return to my friends, Sana told me something important.

 

"Eliza, your licence is now a permanent one. Welcome to the adventurer's guild a second time. But from now on your progress in ranks will slow down. There are only a few quests for monster hunting, that will count for your next promotion. Also before you will get promoted you have to make a test to prove your strength. This is the main point why there are only a few C-ranks in Tyros and the higher ranks are normally activ in other regions where monster are still common. Here in the core region of the empire all monsters have been defeated." <Sana>

 

"Thanks for your advise, Sana. Now I'm going to my friends and tell them about my promotion." <Eliza>

 

I entered the red deer that evening with a grin on my face. The others were already there and waved me over.

 

“You're in a good mood. Did something good happen?” <Lynn>

 

“Yes, two things. You already know one thing. I told you that I spend a lot of my money  on an instructor. Today I managed to upgrade one of my skills to advanced level and I'm confident I'll be able to improve another one soon." <Eliza>

 

“So far you have kept it a secret about which skills you want to improve. Which ones are they?” <Lynn>

 

“I can now do Advanced Magic Control and plan to learn Wind Magic next so I can learn better spells. After that I need a weapon skill and Identify Item so that I can identify the items I found. And the latest news will interest you all.” <Eliza>

 

“Which one?” <Lynn>

 

“I’m now at rank D too!” <Eliza>

 

“Oh cool. Are you joining us now?” <Ken>

 

“That’s what we agreed on last time. If you want, I'll come with you tomorrow. But I want to continue studying every other day, at least as long as my money lasts.” <Eliza>

 

“You’re finally part of our group. I've been waiting for this." <Lynn>

 

I wasn't sure, but it looked like there was a tear in the corner of Lynn's eye. I do not know why. Was she pleased? Relieved? Or was she afraid for me? For Ken, I was relieved to see that he was happy. Since the negative event with the heroes, he was even more motivated to make his dream come true. They were all people with hearts.